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Computer Corner:
Saving Graces
By Marjory Harris, Esq.
In this series, we explore organizational techniques,
software and hardware that will help you clear the mess from your desk, be more
productive, and cut office overhead.
This article presents three software programs, one free, two inexpensive, to
systematize saving and searching.
The Computer
Corner series started four years ago with “How
To Store It, How to Find It”
Since then I have discovered some new tricks for saving bits and
pieces of research, tips, or documents so that I do not have to waste
time re-researching or trying to remember the client’s name
so I can search for an old file. |
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Data Dilemma Redux
You are preparing
for the deposition of an AME and you remember a terrific examination
you did in a similar case around five years ago. But you can't remember
the client's name. Whowuzzit’s name and file are lost in the
mists of time and brain fog. Or maybe you saw a case on your listserv
a few weeks ago and now can’t find it, because you didn’t
save it or you don’t know where you saved it. Or you meant
to save an email that had sound strategy advice on the problem you
now have, but you didn’t know how to save it so it wouldn’t
disappear into the junk pile most email programs become.
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Solutions
to the Lost Data Dilemma
The first and easiest is to install a free search engine such as Windows
Desktop Search. The first screenshot shows a search on “shini,” a
recent post-Ogilvie panel decision.
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Windows
Desktop Search “provides an easy and comprehensive
solution for finding and organizing the content you care about,
whether it's on your PC, in an e-mail message or attachment, on
a remote file share, or on the Web.”
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The search pulled up every file, whether
in Word, OneNote, Outlook, or PDF format that was on my hard drives.
It is easy to click on the menu bar to show only emails or documents,
etc.
For people who do not label and save items as recommended in
the first
article, this program can save having to start from scratch.
It is also handy for searching for letters and reports from doctors,
or for past correspondence from an opponent.
The drawback is that
you are still dealing with shooting a fly with an elephant gun, as
masses of unwanted stuff can come up, too. The only way to have efficient
data retrieval is to have efficient data storage.
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The only way to have efficient
data retrieval is to have efficient data storage.
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Data Storage Redux
In past articles
I reviewed software that made it easy to store data. The first approach
is the operating system, which comes ready to make folders. If you
still store your documents in “C:\My Documents” you are
a computer neophyte. Much better to partition your drive or use a
separate drive for all data. If you don’t want to do that,
at least set up folders to hold your important files. Click here
to download a handy “WC-Law” folder
tree. You can add new
folders as needed. Right click on your mouse, click on “New” then
on “Folder,” and name the folder (e.g., “Ogilvie”).
The next step, after setting up a data storage area on the hard drive,
is to get in the habit of saving anything important to the appropriately
labeled folder. If it is about Ogilvie, save to the Ogilvie folder.
If in doubt, save it in various “WC Law” folders. You may
also save the same material to the client folder for a case you are
working on, just to be able to find it really fast when working on
that case.
An easy way to save, without buying any special programs,
is to use “print” on the “file” menu and print
to PDF.
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Set up a folder tree, apart from
clients’ folders, to hold your legal research
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How to Print to PDF
You probably already have a PDF printer on your computer. Check Printers
and Faxes in Control Panel to confirm this. If you don’t see
any PDF printer, download a free one: Google “free pdf printer” and
pick one of the offerings. To print to PDF, click on the “File” button
to the left of the top menu bar, then on “Print” and
select the PDF printer.
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An easy way to save something
is
to print to PDF
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Navigating
Your Hard Drive at Top Speed
I rely on some utilities to make file storage and retrieval fast
and easy. I mentioned the free Windows Desktop Search above. But
sometimes you have to spend a little to make life easier and save
money in the long run. One essential utility is QuickJump. Try
it free for 30 days and see how much time you save when looking
for a folder or saving to the right folder.
A few minutes spent on setting it up pays immediate dividends. By
hitting the Windows and J keys (Win+J) simultaneously, QuickJump
pops up ready to receive keystrokes. It immediately loads the list
of folders with the first keystroke, putting the most recently used
folders first.
For example, I want to find the folder where I store
items on apportionment. I hit Win+J, type “ap” and there
it is, highlighted at top of the list.
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Sometimes you have to spend a
little to make life easier and save money in the long run
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Or suppose I found something on line
I want to save to the apportionment folder. I click on my PDF print
button, then Win+J, and type in “ap” and the program
opens the correct folder in which to save the webpage.
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Another program from the same company
as QuickJump is MessageSave.
This program works within Outlook and allows one to save an entire
message, with attachments, as a separate file. In conjunction with
QuickJump, it takes a few seconds to store any important message,
received or sent or even just drafted, apart from the .pst file.
Once saved, you can delete the message from Outlook and reduce .pst
bloat.
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Since the message is stored separately,
it is easy to find and open. Of course, you could also print the
message as a text file, or as a PDF, but that won’t allow you
to quickly respond to or forward the message, and formatting, graphics
and links may be lost or altered. Attachments will no longer be there
without separate, time consuming keystrokes to save them as well.
Another nice feature of MessageSave is you can create a new folder
while saving the message. Say you want to save a forum post on deposition
questions about apportionment. If you downloaded the WC-Law folder
tree referenced above, you will see it already has an “Apportionment” folder.
You can use MessageSave to create a sub folder on the fly, such as “Depo
Qs”.
Afraid of not remembering to answer important emails? You can set up an “Emails to Answer” folder separate from Outlook, then save the message to that folder using MessageSave. Check the folder once a day to make sure nothing is missed. Of course, you could set up a folder within Outlook for this purpose, too. With a separate folder, that pops up every time you save a message to it (a nice feature of MessageSave, so you can double check that a message was stored in the correct folder), you are sure to notice what messages were not answered. I delete the stored message once I have replied. And don’t forget to put a shortcut on the desktop for that folder! If this process is a mystery to you, go here to learn this handy trick. |
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